Memorial to Indifference
by LadyDeb1970
Summary: Through the Looking Glass AU: On the night of the Undertaking, Laurel Lance is at the CNRI office when a desperate phone call from her on-again, off-again boyfriend Tommy Merlyn creates a fork in her path.


Author's Notes: So, I wondered how Tommy would save Laurel if he was still at Merlyn Global, looking after his father. Then it occurred to me … well, Malcolm is stubborn. Still wobbly, after spending so many years in a coma, but stubborn. He's certainly stubborn enough to try to stop his wife, even if his body isn't ready …a classic case of willing spirit and weak flesh. Still, Tommy and Ginny could use some help, and that's where Laurel comes in (along with a healthy dose of common sense). I also wondered, given that he was raised by Rebecca in this AU, if Tommy would still be insecure where Laurel was concerned. I decided to go with, 'yes,' because even children growing up in stable, loving homes can be insecure. This is the third story in the 'Rebecca Merlyn is the Dark Archer' series (and if someone can come up with a decent series title, please let me know … my mind is drawing a blank). As things stand now, the next story will be the confrontation between Oliver and Rebecca, and all that entails.

Memorial to Indifference

Disclaimer: Laurel Lance, the Merlyn family, and the environs of Starling/Star City don't belong to me. Ginny Weston, however, does.

CNRI Office, The Glades

Night of the Undertaking

What was she doing?

Really, what was she doing? All of this information was on flash drives and in emails she could access from other computers, she wasn't actually helping any of her clients, and … what was she doing? Getting herself killed? There was dedication, and then there was idiocy, and staying here now when all hell was breaking loose outside these walls was pure idiocy.

Dinah Laurel Lance stared at the computer screen, wondering what exactly she was thinking. Her father had warned her about Rebecca Merlyn's crusade to destroy the Glades, begging her to get out, and that was … God. Laurel jumped as her cell phone began to ring, showing Tommy Merlyn's picture. Tommy … did he know that his mother was totally and completely insane? Still, she answered the phone and was immediately bombarded with Tommy asking frantically, "Laurel … Laurel, _please_ tell me that you aren't at the office!"

"I'm just getting ready to leave. Tommy, your mom …" Laurel began, but couldn't continue. There was a half-hysterical laugh from the other end of the line and Laurel closed her eyes. She rose to her feet, trying not to think about the seemingly-kind woman who nevertheless made it clear that she wouldn't tolerate Laurel hurting her only child. ' _My son has lost enough_ ,' Rebecca Merlyn had said quietly, ' _he deserves better than to have someone toying with his heart because she can't have Oliver Queen_.' Two days later, Tommy broke up with her. She would have said, ' _who was toying with whose heart_ ,' but she honestly didn't believe that was what Tommy was doing. Not for the first time, she wondered if he knew about her encounters with Oliver.

"Oh, Laurel, you don't know the half of it. I need you, Laurel. I'm at Merlyn Global … Mom … what is he …? Dad! You heard Ginny, you just woke up! Argh! Ginny, grab …. dammit!" Tommy cried out, and Laurel froze. Dad? But Malcolm Merlyn had died years earlier, that was why Rebecca wanted to level the Glades. There was the sound of a struggle or a scuffle or something, and then Tommy said breathlessly, "Sorry about that, my father is being stubborn. Yes, Dad, you're being stubborn! Oh, please … you just woke up from a twenty year coma, and you think you can go chasing after Mom! Your legs won't even hold you!"

There were odd sounds as Laurel made for the exit, and then a breathless, feminine voice said, "Sorry about that, Tommy is getting into a wrestling match, trying to make sure his father stays in bed. Considering Tommy got his stubborn nature from his dad, you can imagine how well that's going for both of them. My name is Ginny Weston … listen, get out of there as soon as possible. I have a feeling that Tommy would have come after you himself if he hadn't found out that his dad is still alive, so please don't make him choose between the two of you." Laurel swallowed and told the newcomer that she was on her way now, and would meet them at Merlyn Global.

The Glades were … even worse than they normally were, but that was to be expected when a crazy woman decided to level half of the city. People were trying desperately to get out before Rebecca Merlyn took her revenge for the indifference shown to her and her husband twenty years earlier. Rebecca's words rang through her mind as Laurel scooped up an abandoned child who had been crying on the sidewalk, holding the little boy as she fought her way to her car. ' _I sat in the street, and watched as my beautiful Malcolm bled …. I gave and gave of myself, and my husband gave his money and his resources, but no one cared. No one came, no one helped. So, now, you … all of you get to watch those you love die, because I am done caring. After tonight, the Glades will no longer exist … it will be a memorial to your indifference_.'

Laurel wished she could save more people than the little boy curled up in the passenger's side. But right now, Tommy needed her … and while the Glades would likely be a mass grave if Rebecca Merlyn had her way, that memorial to indifference she mentioned, Laurel owed it to herself and this little boy to make sure that it wasn't her or his grave. There were still things with Tommy to be sorted … but she couldn't get that done if she was dead. Just as she would be of no use to her clients dead.

Fin


End file.
